While the Blue Jays got off to a terrible start in 2017, their strong play from late April through early June has them back in the mix for a Wild Card spot, writes MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand as part of a look at numerous trade-related topics. As such, the Jays don’t seem like obvious sellers at the moment — a sentiment that GM Ross Atkins himself suggested to Feinsand. “Obviously we’re not pleased with our record, but we’re pleased with the fact that our team was able to dig out of a significant hole,” the GM said. “…Now we’re very much in it. We can’t climb back into one of those holes, because there’s not as much time left.” The Jays fell to 35-37 with tonight’s loss, though they’re still just five back in the AL East and 2.5 games out of an AL Wild Card spot. Feinsand notes that the injury to Devon Travis makes second base the biggest need Toronto faces between now and the trade deadline and lists a few speculative targets for Toronto, including Ian Kinsler and Jed Lowrie.

A bit more from Feinsand and some other trade chatter to close out the night…

The Braves have already received interest in Jaime Garcia, Brandon Phillips and Jason Motte, Feinsand reports, but the Braves are likely to hold for now as they seek to generate interest from additional clubs. Garcia was hit hard for the second straight start tonight, but he’s been solid for the majority of the season and could step into the back of a contender’s rotation as a reliable source of league-average innings. Phillips, meanwhile, has been quietly productive in his first season with Atlanta, and the Reds are on the hook for nearly all of his salary. And Motte, since inking a minors pact with the Braves, has turned in a 2.14 ERA through 21 innings, albeit with some very unappealing peripherals (5.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, .179 BABIP, 5.89 FIP, 5.09 SIERA).

Despite a lack of starting pitching and a very rough stretch over the past month, the Orioles still view themselves as contenders, GM Dan Duquette tells FanRag’s Jon Heyman. “We have a number of players who are capable of playing better and contributing more to the 2017 team than they have to date,” says Duquette. “…They have all played to a much higher level than they have played at so far this season. We are still contenders and we look forward to these players contributing to the club.” Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman, Zach Britton, Mark Trumbo and Darren O’Day are among the rebound candidates listed by Duquette, whose Orioles are 13-28 in their past 41 games.

While the White Sox are known to be open for business, Heyman reports that there isn’t presently much of a market for Todd Frazier or Melky Cabrera. He hears that the Sox would “have to practically give [Frazier] away” or at eat virtually all of his salary in a trade. Frazier’s swinging a hot bat in June (.269/.351/.537, five homers), so perhaps he’s beginning to turn it around and boost that stock. Cabrera, meanwhile, is hitting quite well in 2017 after a slow start to the year, as he’s slashed .331/.386/.480 over the past calendar month. I’d imagine, however, that his $15MM salary and defensive shortcomings limit his market despite the improved production. Also of ChiSox note: Heyman writes that there’s no evidence of recent talks with the Nationals regarding David Robertson.

The Red Sox should be able to add about $9MM to their payroll this summer without crossing the luxury tax barrier, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. While around $2MM of that sum could be set aside for the salary that’ll need to be paid for internal promotions, Boston should have the remaining funds to address one, if not two needs, provided they don’t break the bank for a starting pitcher. Speier again lists Todd Frazier as a possibility, and Heyman linked the Red Sox to the Royals’ Mike Moustakas in his aforementioned column. Feinsand notes that Boston is indeed “in the market” for third base help as well, with Pablo Sandoval back on the DL and not playing well even when on the field.

The Dodgers are more focused on adding rotation help than landing a significant bat due largely to the emergence of Cody Bellinger, per Morosi. According to Morosi, though, the Tigers have eyes on Dodgers prospect Alex Verdugo and would like to come away from the 2017 trade deadline with a center field option for the 2018 season, if they emerge as sellers. (Detroit hasn’t yet made that determination, he adds.) Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez, Morosi points out, could be among the targets the Dodgers look at if they do elect to pursue a right-handed-hitting outfielder, though that connection is made speculatively, and I’d expect the Dodgers to be rather reluctant to part with a near-MLB-ready asset such as Verdugo in order to land a rental like Martinez.

Comments

Agree 100%. Machado will never stay in Baltimore for a variety of reasons. He needs to be sold with a season and a half of control left to maximize the return. A zach Britton trade is also on the table.

I can’t even buy him in my fantasy league… No way his 1st half has any impact on his return. Plus you generally get more back trading mid-season, I think. Only problem is the 2 teams that seem to be the obvious destinations are NYY and BOS…

Sock, why is that a problem? This entire site was designed because people like to be Armchair GMs. In fact, that’s why a lot of people like sports, it’s a huge element in literally every sport out there. Easily one of the most common things that fans talk about. So if this bothers you, go to a different website and find something better to troll.

JBJ is a gold glove caliber center fielder and will probably have over an 800 ops again this year. He is a borderline all star even if he is a very streaky hitter. Most GM’s would love to have JBJ. Many Machado isn’t going anywhere at this point unless the Orioles were blown away and no Devers and JBJ and another prospect would not get Machado.

Orioles need a haul of propects, especially starting pitching or international, the Orioles prospect cupboard is bare and the MLB level starting staff is terrible these days. Machado for a ton of prospects? Oh yeah.

It might be worth it for the O’s to shop Machado, unless they’re serious about going up to 300 million or whatever next offseason. Obviously, complicating matters is that Harper and Kershaw will be free agents in the same offseason , but there’s enough money around the game for all three. I think Machado ends up elsewhere, because Angelos drives a hard bargain and machado’s already had surgery on each knee.

Yanks should deal a mid level prospect such as Domingo German plus Headley and Carter and Cash to acquire Frazier as an upgrade defensively.
The White Sox can utilize Carter at DH, they can use Headley at third or outfield as a stop gap. They save money and get s decent arm prospect in deal which as it stands they are not getting with Frazier. The Yankees upgrade tied defensively at the very least and take a flyer on Frazier. They let Frazier walk after season and address third from within.

Depends on how much cash. Headley has a bad contract, so White Sox wouldn’t do this just to get rid of Frazier as a rental. As for Carter, not sure how interested they are in Adam Dunn 2.0, but it is the Sox, so you never know.

Package Cutch and Cole for one of the biggest returns in MLB trade history and jump start the contending timeline to begin next year. That’s what the Pirates GM should do. Plus that Meadows kid who is supposedly better than Cutch could be up by then.

Cutch and Cole arnt guys you trade the farm for. Cutch has been better recently but you only get him for 1.5 years, and Cole hasn’t been great either. Two players that haven’t been great won’t get you anywhere near one of the best packages ever. Won’t even get you what Sale brought back.

Meadows will never be anywhere near as good as Cutch. You probably heard this from the same folks who believe Polanco will be too, mind you his best season is basically as good as Cutch’s worst.
Cole is a serious arm injury waiting to happen, and I personally would have traded Glasnow and or Meadows last season but oh well.

Not surprised nobody wants Frazier or Cabrera. The former just can’t hit like he used to and the latter can hit, but gives away all his value on the field. As a DH, he’s valuable, but most AL contenders are already set at DH. I still expect Robertson to get traded; even if he just becomes a high-priced setup man, some team will trade for him.

The biggest need for the Jays is not 2nd base. What a ridculous statement .Both Goins and Barney and even Martin can play second very well and they will all hit reasonble too. By Far the biggest need for the Jays is pitching. both starting and relieving. The Jays pitching stats are middle of the pack on many metrics, and that won’t do to win a championship. They have the hitting to win, so let’s sell the farm to shore up the pitching. The Jays need one elite starter and two very good releivers to replace Howell and Grilli, just cut them, they are done.

Sanchez will be returning soon but who knows how the finger will hold up. As I said Estrada would take a step back and he has, I said Happ would take a major step back and he has, although he appears to have turned it around now; you never know what you are going to get with Liriano, the ace or the bum;; that leaves stroman and Biagini. My question was and is how many turns starter is Biagini? When he gets through the 1st inning okay, he appears to be a 2 turns starter which is 5-6 innings most of the time. He is still learning and cannot be depended on. No way this team goes to the playoffs without pitching upgrades. The hitting will only take them so far.

While I agree that pitching is a huge need for the jays (the bullpen is a mess with all the injuries)…this statement made me laugh
“Both Goins and Barney and even Martin can play second very well and they will all hit reasonable too”

I disagree on Goins and Barney. For subs their performance is reasonable. Goins is 4hr/27Rbi -.6 War with elite defense. Barney is 2hr/9RBi -.0.3 War with very good defense. Both are capable of playing short or 3rd. More than reasonable compared to the rest of the lineup which can carry them. Goins is 4th on the team in Rbi’s. In order to win you gotta have RBI production.

Quintana has a 2.25 ERA in four starts in June. Hes starting to get back to form and cant wait for the bidding war between the astros and yankees. Should be a nice haul of prospects. David Robertson is having a solid season and should land at least one top 100 prospect and any prospects the sox can get for melky and frazier will be positive. Since their contracts are up. White Sox will have a stacked farm system

Yankees get Quintana. He is just 28 and lefty. Plus, he is under control through 2020, and how his team-friendly deal is structured Quintana would cost just $5.3 million toward the luxury tax payroll next year. White sox receive Adams, Frazier, Mateo and Estevan Florial.

Will see. Thats a pretty resonable package for a pitcher of quintanas caliber and control. For prospects that may or may not even pan out. Theres no promise in any prospects. Quintana is legit. One team or another. Like it or not. The sox are gonna get a package similar to that.

I read a trade rumor article about how the Nationals might have no choice but to give up Victor Robles for David Robertson. Nationals bullpen is a disaster. That would be the best thing to happen for the whitesox

You never know. Nationals may not have any other choice. Sox would have to probably eat the rest of Robertson contract. They know they need a closer bad. If they dont make some changes there gonna lose harper. I was suprised what cleveland gave up for andrew miller. (Even tho robertson is not on his level) cleveland gave up alot

Robertson is the most experienced reliever on the market and is not a one year rental. You tell me whose a better reliever on the trade block. Plus the sox can throw in kanhle. No ones gonna give the nationals a better relieve package than that.

I dont think the nationals expected their bullpen to be such a mess. You never know. Theirs alot of rumors the nationals have interest in Robertson and from the trades that went down at last years deadline. I would not be suprised. Did you see the bulls traded jimmy butler

They were actually rumored to have offered Robles in the Sale deal. Sox just wanted Moncada and Kopech more. As for the Sox getting Robles for Robertson, one chance in 10 million. Best case scenario that I can see is Kieboom or Fedde and the Sox pay down half of Robertson’s salary.

That’s the end of the Nationals, not just Robles, but if they trade any of their premium position talent (they have others) on the farm for a reliever or relievers then they are done. The Nats are not Bryce Harper, he is one player and no team is one player.

Gleyber Torres for Chapman is one of the dumbest trades I’ve ever seen. Never, never, never do you trade a position prospect like that for a reliever.

I agree. Cubs gave up a future star and I was suprised what cleveland gave up for andrew miller. I think Clint frazier is gonna be really good. Thats who i want the sox to ask for the main piece. In a quintana trade

If you believe that is the final piece to get you to the WS then i guess you make the trade. It worked out for the cubs and the indians and the nationals can have a solid chance to win the WS if they get a closer

They won the World Series, trade was well worth it. Cubs have had plenty of HoF players in the past 108 years, even if Torres becomes the greatest of all time it doesn’t matter, the point of the game is to win the WS not collect prospects. The ignorance in your comment is unreal.

I agree that it was a bad deal also. The point of the game is to win WS, but it’s ultimately a business. This would be like Amazon making a decision for a huge short term gain to make stockholders immediately happy at the expense of their future. Companies that historically do that fall, this year appears to be showing signs of the Cubs falling.

Personally, I think they could have won it without making that mega deal. If not, they could have kept the foundation strong and pick away for years to come. Hard to truly complain about the final results either way though.

To me, there is no reason any of the 3 braves players listed should be on the roster by the trade deadline. Philips might be an exception cause he can veto some trades right? But I’m guessing if he continues as well as he has been, a contender would love that piece on the field, if not at least on the bench and he would love to contend. None of these guys will bring as much as braves fans will hypothetically predict, but if they continue to play well, they will bring in more than you most would think. I also fully expect Matt Adams to be traded also, I don’t buy the Freeman to 3rd chatter.

I predict Adams to the yankees and wouldn’t be surprised if Garcia goes there also. Garcia isn’t really a huge need for them, but he would be a really good piece to put as their 4-5th starter. and to be fair, they can probably find someone better. But for relatively cheap, he might be their best option if they choose to go that route.

For Garcia, I don’t see much. maybe 1 middle to lower rank top 30 prospect from the yanks plus cash or another minor league player. If I’m the braves, try to get as close to pro ready as possible, realistically someone that’s in A ball.

If Adams continues like he has been playing, I see two middle to lower rank top 30 prospects, cash/player to be named later. I think it’s realistic to get someone pretty close to pro ready.

Keep in mind the yanks will have many prospects that will be rule 5 eligible with truly not enough roster space. With that said, if the braves are lucky, a player like Abreu, chase adams, dustin fowler, or Andujar would be involved in the adams trade. Realistically Tyler Wade is in reach, Tyler Austin would be nice if we think he can handle the outfield.

If I’m the braves, and Austin can play the outfield, I go after him and a pitcher in the bottom half of their top 30… Austin a hometown boy who can play.

If I’m the Yanks I would never give you one of those top ten prospects for Adams. Lol
You gave up peanuts and he’s finally producing, keep him. Yanks have options and to trade one of there best pitchers on the farm is nuts.
I’ll give you Refsnyder and a low level organizational prospect for Adams and you will say thank you.

There is no trolling here ya dork. I clearly said if we were LUCKY. Implying that it’s a bit unrealistic. But you fail to remember that trade value is determined based on the market and need, not based on what we gave up in order to receive a player. Ie, there is a clear need that the yanks have, and the braves currently have the best at probably the cheapest price. Also a lot of their better prospects are about to be rule 5 eligible… and they are running out of roster space. So you have a very realistic chance of losing some of them for literally nothing.

Also the fact that a player is a top 5 positional player or a top 5 pitcher in your organization really doesn’t mean much either. Sure they might be a good player, but it’s a prospect at the end of the day and not a super high rated one overall. So there is a very realistic chance that they end up being avg. So to swap for a player that will for sure play well and give your team a chance to win a world series for a middle ranked prospect is very reasonable.

scrody, yes that is a reasonable start… I think the braves should be able to get a tad more out of adams personally… but definitely a start. I also think they should get someone who’s closer to being pro ready. a triple A prospect.. I honestly would prefer a hitter, THAT JUST ME, so I think Wade or Andujar are very reasonable request for adams. At least it’s a starting point… maybe we have to throw in a minor leaguer cash or Garcia? idk

But we know the braves, they will harp for pitching. I’ll say this though. We should get a better return for Adams than we did for Kelly Johnson, and Kelly Johnson brought 2 top 30 organizational prospects in two different trades….

I don’t think we really need to add Wade, even if that were enough. Andujar would be awesome but there’s no way we’d get him with these guys. Dermis Garcia and Guzman for Adams, Motte, and Garcia seems fair to me though.

First off what organization lets top prospects be vulnerable to the rule five draft?..certainly not the Yanks or anyone! Second if you think Adams is worth more then 1 third tier prospect then you’re nuts.

U dont understand… they have an abnormal amount of players that are about to fall in that category and they don’t have roster space with their really young team. Unless they shed expensive vets, this is a real issue for them. and right now, the way adams is playing based on the yankees needs, adams is worth more to them than your giving credit.

Plus, you don’t value a player on your own personal bias. Teams needs and market determines that. Giving up a top 30 organization prospect for matt adams, is very reasonable. in most situations the way he is currently playing. I

Well ride him while he’s hot cause it won’t last! Yes I understand the business of the 40 man roster and rule five. Last year they had one of the highest total taken and some were returned this year they will lose players that didn’t factor along with other teams. The Yankees aren’t gonna jump on someone like Adams who doesn’t have a legit track record.

Torres, Frazier, Acevedo, Abreu, Adams, McKinney, Wade, Estrada, Avelino, Fowler, Clarkin, Little, Montgomery, Swanson, etc…….just to name a few exposed to Rule 5 next year. Not to mention any player returned from last year and your out of option players like Refsyner with no more club options. The reality is the Yankees have several very legit players they need to add to the 40 man roster, and they won’t be able to protect them all. Cashman is going to be making trades. He also has to find clubs who have the 40 man roster space to add those players. Regarding the non elite guys like Clarkin an Estrada types, Cashman has no leverage as other clubs know they’re exposed to rule 5. So YES, the Yankees will likely overpay on a few trades this year, as they simply need the 40 man roster relief. It’s a good problem to have.

Exactly charmin… and greatcereal, adams has a good enough track history and in his prime. He’s a .270 career hitter and a career 5.1 WAR. The guy can play baseball and 1b 3b are the yankees weakest spots right now. He’s a big upgrade at 1b even if we plays half as well as he’s doing right now. The situations for the yanks and the braves makes sense and the yanks would likely “overpay” although overpaying is really relative when you have a system like theirs and your majors is stacked full of young talent.

Seems pretty obvious at this point that the Mets need to re-configure their bullpen. Missing a crucial piece or two that are necessary to be on par with the better teams in the league. Starting rotation has faltered at various points, but bullpen consistently disappoints. Robertson, Colome, K. Herrera all viable options to help bolster the back end. Thoughts?

What would be the point this year? No chance of the playoffs, so trading assets to get better this year doesn’t make them contenders and just worsens their draft position. Maybe in the offseason, but they are more than just a good bullpen away from catching the Nationals.

The Braves technically should be considered contender. They are 11 game out wildcard spot and 9 game out of first place. The Braves have been playing Great baseball. Having said all of that the Braves will not make the playoff, they should trade Garcia, Phillips Matt Adams,Mote,Jim Johnson Matt Adams Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis. If the Braves package these players together in 3 separate deals they could end up getting prospect in the 10-15 range maybe even in the 5-10 range depend on the team. Lets trade these players and be to contend in 2018 and behind that.

Not sure what you want them to do right now. The market hasn’t really developed at this point and they have the best record in the NL and second best in the league. Sure they’ll address their needs at the deadline, but they aren’t in dire straights where they need to jump the market.

Who would you replace in the lineup? We don’t NEED a RH hitter. The offense is doing well. We need a RHP set up man in the bullpen to take the load off Baez and a front line starter. The problem is that everyone could use a front line starter so the price will be high and we don’t know who’s 100% available and ready right now.

Yep, that’s about the size of it. But I’m not so confident that this FO will ever adopt a conventional see need/fix need approach. They seem to be more into creating a huge array of internal options and hoping one of them pans out.

Im not really sure that’s fully true. They engaged in talks and try to absorb Grienke’s contract from what was reported. They also engaged in talks to try and acquire Braun. They ended up settling for Hill, because he was the best actually available on the market. I think they’ve shown a willingness to make moves just not overpay if there’s a similar player on the market. I’m kind of wondering if last year was more of a to many potential holes to fill type of situation to make just one significant move.

To qualify what I said, it sure seems to be true when it comes to relief pitching. Not that they never trade or sign, but the last few years has been a constant merry-go-round of bullpen meat. A lot of cannon fodder but no firm concept as to who goes in the postseason after Jansen. In addition to the pen, the rotation looks much the same this year. After Kershaw it’s who, who, and who? This constant mixing and matching seems to have some value for regular season play, but at some point the auditioning needs to end.

Yea a bridge between SP and Kenley would be a huge get for LAD. Need that more than a RH hitter or SP depth in my opinion. Last 2 WS winners have had great bullpens. Rotation should be good enough with Wood emerging as a solid+ SP, Ryu and Maeda getting it together, McCarthy’s solid, and Urias if healthy. Offense is fine – 4th in NL in OPS (3rd vs. RHP, 7th vs. LHP).

Baez has been a lot better this year so he could be that guy, but even so that leaves a go-to LH reliever. In typical fashion for this FO, the Dodgers are juggling three lefties (not including Ryu when he was pitching out of the pen), but still no LHP has emerged as the shoulder to tap in the big game situations. And Hatcher just has to go. Fields too probably. Maybe Morrow can fill one of their slots.

There’s not really a lefty struggle this year. There was a major one last year, but they are .248/.334/.434 on the year with a 105 WRC+ which puts them 4th in the NL. Since May 1st they’ve been
.276/.364/.525. They are more than fine in that department. It’s over people.

They have 7 players with an OPS of over .900 and all 7 of those plays have a greater than 150 WRCplus vs LH. That was an absolute far cry from last year in which it was pretty evident early on. They are fine on the offensive end, but they realistically do need a power lefty and #2-#3

I guess my thing with Verdugo is he’s a tweener. Beyond his physical and mental youth/ immaturity, he defensively isn’t a better CF than Pederson and/or Thompson and offensively doesn’t possess the power profile for a corner position. He’s also a year away. You can’t necessarily rely on someone that physically barely made it through AA, and was sent home from the AFL, for a playoff stretch. That being said he is also only 21 so it’s hard to be overly critical of such a fast rider. But in the end he’s kind of redundant in a deep OF farm system.

The Dodgers clearly need a #2 or #3 starter & LH late inning guy. Idk to me the Tigers and Dodgers match up extremely well even if it’s not for Martinez. I’m not sure Morosi is ever really right on the Dodgers.

Maybe, and I can see the Dodgers dangling Verdugo, but when you get right down to it, the matchups are difficult to find. The Tigers have maybe a couple of bullpen arms who might interest the Dodgers but only one starter (Fulmer) and he is not going to be available at any price.

I wasn’t referring to him as just OF depth that’s not what I was saying. Because depth does not necessarily intimate a surplus of talent. I didn’t mean it to come out that way. He’s a very very good prospect, but he’s not elite. He’s going to hit oh boy is he going to hit. But the major question is does he profile as a corner OF guy. I don’t believe so. What I was trying to get across is the fact that there is a surplus of really good young OFs in this system. He is one of them. He’s just not untouchable, or as close to untouchable as every player has their price, as Seager & Belinger were.

That being said, he doesn’t get called up and get a chance unless he is going to play everyday. I’m not sure he’s going to play everyday unless there’s a rash of injuries, which you hope doesn’t happen.

If it where me I’d keep Cutch and maybe offer him an extension. Depth in the outfield went from good to iffy. Marte suspended and was his decent performance a result of PEDs or was it just a onetime thing? big question mark there, Polanco not doing well at any aspect of the game and Meadows not doing well at the AAA level. Their next best out fielders are infielders. or a few years out.

Cole on the other hand, he has some depth behind him. Taillion, Nova, Kingham, Keller another year or two along with some players who could be good if they find their missing piece, like Kuhl, Williams and Glassnow.

Neither one have high trade values though due to recent struggles but Cutch is on a hot streak and Cole has stayed reasonably healthy so someone might blow them away.. if they do then well you don’t say No with out looking at it a few times.

If they lose this series with the cards though… pretty much game over for their play off run.

I don’t think people realize that the Braves really are trying to win. As fans, we can talk about the Braves selling off their veterans all we want. But if the Braves front office sees that the team can produce a winning record for an extended period of time without Freddie, and then get an MVP type player back in the lineup WITH Adams, then they’re most likely going to be buyers at the deadline. Maybe no crazy deals (unless it’s prospects for proven, controllable talent), but at least trying to improve.

Throw in a young controllable starter at the deadline along with Sean Newcomb, Folty, Teheran, and Garcia and the rotation at least becomes watchable.

I honestly hope the Braves sell off some veterans if things start going downhill. But the Braves players are busting their butts right now and it’s kind of tough on the players when you’re winning some games, getting your star player back, and then your front office sells off. They want to win.

I think the Braves move Garcia, Adams, Motte, and one of Jim Johnson and Vizcaino. I don’t see them moving Kemp, Phillips, or Markakis. Truth is Kemp protects Freeman and helps the Braves overall offense and it outweighs his lackluster defense. Phillips has been beneficial to Swanson’s development this year, can block a ton of trades, has family in the area, and has made it clear he doesn’t want to move. Unless he’s moved to a legit contender and he wants a ring that bad, he won’t be moved. Markakis won’t be moved b/c there really isn’t a market for him and the braves don’t really have a replacement for him right now. WILD CARD: I could see Dickey getting moved. He’s pitched MUCH MUCH better over his last four outings, which is when Tyler Flowers starting catching him as opposed to Suzuki. Braves will be targeting close to MLB ready Catcher, 3rb, 4th OF/RF, and pitching. Specifically, prospects blocked within their current organization and or exposed to the Rule 5 draft. Someone like Dustin Fowler for the Yankees would be a target but not sure Braves line up for any trades that include him.